Corpus
Christi
1451.3
~ On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Solemnity of Corpus
Christi, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on the square
in front of Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran,
then presided at the Eucharistic procession to
the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In his homily,
the Pope spoke of the significance of the day's
Solemnity through the three fundamental gestures
of the celebration. Firstly 'our coming together
around the altar of the Lord to be together in
His presence', secondly 'the procession, walking
with the Lord', and finally 'kneeling before the
Lord in adoration'.
Explaining
the first of these gestures, the Holy Father quoted
St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians, where it is
written that 'there is no longer Jew or Greek,
there is no longer slave or free, there is no
longer male and female; for all of you are one
in Christ Jesus'. ... In these words', said the
Pope, 'we feel the truth and the power of the
Christian revolution, the most profound revolution
in human history, which we may experience in the
Eucharist where people of different ages, sexes,
social conditions and political ideas come together
in the presence of the Lord. The Eucharist can
never be a private matter. ... The Eucharist is
public worship, which has nothing esoteric or
exclusive about it. ... We remain united, over
and above our differences, ... we open to one
another in order to become a single thing in Him'.
Concerning the second of these gestures, that
of 'walking with the Lord', Benedict XVI affirmed
that 'with the gift of Himself in the Eucharist,
the Lord Jesus ... raises us up again ... and
puts us on the journey with the power of this
Bread of life. ... The procession of Corpus Christi
teaches us that the Eucharist wants to free us
from all distress and discomfort ... so that we
can resume the journey with the strength God gives
us in Jesus Christ'.
'Without the God-with-us, the God Who is near,
how can we sustain the pilgrimage of life, either
individually or as a society or a family of peoples?'
asked the Pope. 'The Eucharist is the Sacrament
of the God Who does not leave us to journey alone,
but puts Himself at our side and shows us the
way. Indeed, it is not enough to keep going, it
is important to see where we are going! Progress
is not enough if there are no criteria of reference'.
Finally, the third element of Corpus Christi,
that of 'kneeling in adoration before the Lord',
is 'the most valuable and radical remedy against
the idolatries of yesterday and today, ... it
is a profession of freedom: those who bow to Jesus
cannot and must not prostrate themselves before
any earthly power, however strong', said the Pope.
As
Christians 'we prostrate ourselves before God,
Who first bowed down towards man ... to save him
and give him life, Who knelt before us to wash
our dirty feet. Adoring the Body of Christ means
believing that there, in that piece of bread,
Christ is truly present and gives real meaning
to life, to the vast universe as to the smallest
of creatures, to the whole of human history as
to the briefest of lives'. Following Mass, the
Pope presided at a Eucharistic procession that
passed along Rome's Via Merulana to the Basilica
of St. Mary Major. Along the way, thousands of
faithful prayed and sang, accompanying the Blessed
Sacrament. An open vehicle transported the Sacrament
in a mostrance, before which the Holy Father prayed.
[Vatican Information Service] 1451.3
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Cardinal Alfonso
López Trujillo
At
a Mass commemorating Cardinal Alfonso López
Trujillo death last month, the prefect of the
Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Battista
Re, recalled the late cardinal as a 'passionate
defender of the Gospel, with a robust strength
of will, a brilliant clarity of thought and a
man of boundless dedication and determination'
for defending life and the family. During the
homily for the Mass at the Church of Santa Maria
in Trastevere in Rome, Cardinal Re said, 'He never
lacked courage, especially when he was trying
to defend the non-negotiable values' of human
life, the family and marriage.
And
it is true, he continued, 'He never feared unpopularity
or hostility. He was maligned, but the falsehoods
leveled against him never stopped him or intimidated
him.' According to L'Osservatore Romano, Cardinal
Re remembered the late Colombian prelate as 'a
pastor with great personality and firm decisions,'
which were sometimes criticized and opposed. 'Nonetheless,
one cannot deny the uprightness and great inspiration
that formed the basis of his dynamism' and that
made him 'a true man of the Church during his
entire ministry, desirous only of promoting the
good,' especially with regards to the defense
of the family, 'which today is under threat.'
Cardinal
Re also recalled Cardinal Trujillo's years of
service to the Church as a priest, and later,
as president of the Pontifical Council for the
Family. He also brought to mind the words of Pope
Benedict XVI at the cardinal's funeral Mass. 'We
all admired his tireless activity. We cannot help
but be thankful for the tenacious battle he waged
in defense of the truth about family love and
the spread of the Gospel of the family.' He called
on the faithful to pray for Cardinal Trujillo
to be received in the peace of Christ and enjoy
'the vision of God face to face.' [CNA] 1451.4
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Concelebration
Pope
Benedict XVI plans to curtail the practice of
organizing large-scale Eucharistic celebrations
with hundreds of priests concelebrating the Mass,
according to a report in Italy's Panorama
magazine. Panorama reports that the Holy
Father has directed the Congregation for Divine
Worship to study the question and prepare appropriate
instructions. His objective, the Italian journal
says, is to eliminate the concelebration of Mass
by hundreds of priests at a time, with many of
them standing at a distance from the altar. The
Vatican has not commented on the Panorama
report. If the story is accurate, the new liturgical
guidelines could bring significant changes in
liturgical celebrations at which the Pope himself
presides, such as Masses attended by tens of thousands
of people at World Youth Day or during papal trips
abroad. [CWNews] 1451.5
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Russian-Orthodox
'summit' meeting?
A
'summit meeting' between Pope Benedict XVI and
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II is a possibility,
but it is not the main focus of ecumenical efforts,
according to the president of the Pontifical Council
for Christian Unity. Cardinal Walter Kasper told
the Interfax news service that no time-frame has
been set for a meeting between the Pope and the
Russian prelate. Such a meeting could have great
benefit, he said, insofar as it would underline
the shared Christian commitment to upholding Gospel
principles in a secularized world. However, the
cardinal continued, the primary purpose of ecumenical
work is to bring about a restoration of Christian
unity. If a 'summit meeting' served that purpose
it would be useful, he said; but a meeting would
not be arranged simply for its own sake. Cardinal
Kasper told Interfax that the main obstacles to
union between Rome and Moscow involve disagreements
about papal primacy and other doctrinal issues.
He added that mutual mistrust and misunderstandings
were also obstacles, which could be overcome through
dialogue. [CWNews] 1451.6
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Albanian
bishops' ad limina
On
Friday morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father
received prelates from the Episcopal Conference
of Albania, who have just completed their 'ad
limina' visit. In his address to them the Holy
Father recalled how, 'following the dark night
of the communist dictatorship', the Church in
Albania 'was providentially able to recover, thanks
also to the apostolic strength' of Servant of
God John Paul II who visited the country in 1993,
'reconstituting the Catholic hierarchy for the
good of believers and of the Albanian people'.
The Pope told the prelates 'to promote in your
actions and initiatives that unity which must
express the basic and life-giving mystery of the
one Body of Christ, in communion with Peter's
Successor. ... The shared responsibility of bishops'
is essential 'in order to face the problems and
difficulties of the Church in Albania', he said.
'I encourage you all to evangelical prudence',
he went on, 'while maintaining an attitude of
authentic charity and recalling that the ecclesial
cannons are a means to the orderly promotion of
communion in Christ and the higher good of the
one flock of the Redeemer. This concerns evangelising
and catechistic activity and may also be expressed
through commitment in the social field'. In this
context, Pope Benedict mentioned healthcare, education,
and factors 'which favour positive collaboration
among the various elements of society and their
respective religious traditions'. Faced with the
phenomenon of emigration, both within and outside
the country, the Pope highlighted the need to
engage in dialogue with bishops from other countries,
'in order to offer necessary and urgent pastoral
assistance. I understand the difficulties of a
lack of clergy. I am also aware of the generosity
of many of your priests, who work in precarious
situations, committed to offering their ministry
to the Catholic faithful of Albanian origin in
foreign lands'. 'Among your priorities, may the
promotion of vocations always be a primary concern.
On this the future of the Church in Albania depends'.
Benedict
XVI concluded his remarks by congratulating the
prelates on the agreements signed recently with
the Republic of Albania. 'I trust that these provisions
may help towards the spiritual reconstruction
of the country, given the positive role the Church
plays in society', he said. [Vatican Information
Service] 1451.7
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Neocatechumenal
statutes approved ad experimentum
Pope
Benedict XVI has approved the canonical statutes
of the Neocatechumenal Way, leaders of the lay
apostolate have announced. Leaders of the Necatechumenal
Way were apparently caught by surprise by the
news that the Pontiff had given final approval
to their statutes. Kiko Arguello, the founder
of the group, was traveling in the Holy Land when
the web site operated by Neocatechumate members
in Rome announced the Pope's decision. Canonical
statutes for the Neocatechumenal Way were approved
ad experimentum by the Holy See in 2002,
for a period of 5 year. But final approval was
delayed, with informed sources suggesting that
the Vatican remained concerned about some aspects
of the organization, including unusual liturgical
practices that had provoked a correction from
the Congregation for Divine Worship in 2005.
In
April the secretary of the Pontifical Council
for the Laity, Bishop Josef Clemens, told the
Italian news site, Petrus, that final approval
might not come for some time. But the Pope's final
decision was announced barely one month later.
[CWNews] 1451.8
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United
Nations
One
billion UNFPA condoms for Burma
'The
United Nations will send nearly a quarter of a
million condoms into cyclone-hit Myanmar to help
needy survivors with no access to contraceptives,'
a UN official says.
UNFPA
aid advisor Chaiyos Kunanusont said 72,800 condoms
had so far been delivered to 'survivors struggling
to maintain their family planning after the storm
hit in early May.'
'We
don't want regular use of contraception disrupted.
An emergency usually damages the health system,
so people don't have access to condoms and contraceptives,'
said Chaiyos.
'Reproductive
Health Kits' developed for 'the initial acute
phase of an emergency,' are also high on the UN's
list of priority relief supplies. These kits include
condoms, oral and injectable contraceptives (including
the abortifacient morning-after pill) and IUD's,
as well as supplies and equipment such as razor
blades and clean sheets to help in the safe delivery
of babies.
UNFPA
also provides 'manual vacuum aspirators, portable
abortion devices that are easily used in primitive
conditions such as refugee areas,' in its kits.
(see LifeSiteNews.com coverage of the tsunami
disaster of 2004 in Indonesia: UNFPA Calls for
US $28m in Funding to Supply Condoms to Victims
of Tsunami:
here
Cyclone
Nargis left at least 133,000 people dead or missing
and an estimated 2.5 million in desperate need
of clean water, food, medicine and shelter, 500,000
of which are children, according to the International
Federation of the Red Cross.
For
these millions that have been left homeless and
in desperate need of food, the idea of using what
precious distribution resources there are to pass
out condoms and 'manual vacuum aspirators' to
add to the death toll, must seem absurd.
The
Red Cross says an estimated 375 tons of food a
day are needed in the hardest hit areas of Yangon
and the Irrawaddy Delta to hold off starvation,
but the Myanmar government continues to impede
international aid by refusing to grant visas to
international aid workers.
UNFPA's
response to the deadly earthquake in Sichuan Province,
China, that affected some 5.7 million people,
was to 'provide reproductive health supplies'
as well as to ensure that pregnant women 'receive
proper emergency obstetric services (that is,
abortion) when necessary,' according to the UNFPA
website
[LifeSiteNews] 1451.9
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Abortion as a human
right
The
Catholic Family Institute (C-Fam) reports from
New York how, a few weeks ago, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted
in favor of a non-binding resolution calling on
European nations to make abortion a human right.
The same assembly is soon to vote on a resolution
calling for legalization of homosexual marriage.
The
committee debating the resolution considered disparate
treatment of 'same-sex couples' to be 'unlawful
discrimination' and urged that European countries
aspire to be 'tolerant, pluralist and broadminded.'
The committee called for PACE to 'study the legal
recognition of same-sex partnerships in Europe'
and make further appropriate recommendations.
The committee has criticized Central and Eastern
European countries such as Poland and Latvia,
where it sent several fact-finding missions. The
constitutions of Poland and Latvia reserve marriage
exclusively for opposite-sex couples.
The
European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is
spearheading a campaign with other non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) to oppose the draft resolution.
ECLJ counsel Gregor Puppinck said that 'the European
Convention of Human Rights states expressly in
Article 12 that the 'right to marry and to found
a family' is guaranteed to 'men and women of marriageable
age.' The European Court of Human Right cannot,
and has always refused to infer from this article,
a 'human right' for homosexuals to marry.'
The
ECLJ also warns of mixing legitimate concerns
of violence against homosexuals with illegitimate
incursions on prerogatives explicitly reserved
to nation states in international law. ECLJ explains
that Article 12 permits regulation of marriage
'according to the national laws governing the
exercise of this right.' ECLJ has also complained
about the lack of transparency in the drafting
process. The PACE committees keep resolution drafts
secret before introducing them on the floor, leaving
little time for comment.
At
the same time, the European Commissioner for Human
Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published an official
communication calling for including 'sexual orientation'
and 'gender identity' as protected categories
under European human rights law. He praised the
Yogyakarta Principles, an NGO document drafted
two years ago by left-wing lawyers and activists.
The Yogyakarta Principles recommends policies
that would 'recogniserecognize the diversity of
family forms,' challenge notions of 'public morality'
in domestic law, and promote curricula that 'serve
to enhance…respect for diverse sexual orientations
and gender identities' in public schools.
In
a parallel development, the European Parliament
- a separate body attached to the European Union
(EU) - voted in its own non-binding resolution
advocating a ban on all forms of discrimination,
including sexual orientation, in all areas of
EU law. The resolution puts pressure on the European
Commission, which is expected to submit a proposal
for a binding anti-discrimination directive to
the European Parliament by the end of this year.
A few weeks ago, the European Commission withdrew
its plans for a directive that would cover sexual
discrimination, which gave the left-wing parliamentarians
an impetus for passing yesterday's resolution.
The
Council of Europe is distinct from the EU; it
is larger with 47 Member States, and also older.
The Council of Europe is considered the chief
protector and promoter of human rights in Europe.
[C-FAM] 1451.10
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The
radical onslaught
UK
embassies to promote homosexuality
The
UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has announced
that its embassies will now be collaborating with
local homosexual activist organisations in other
countries to promote acceptance of homosexuality
overseas. The goal, officials said, is to join
forces with these groups in attempting to force
other countries to implement the full homosexualist
political agenda of equating homosexuality with
natural relations between men and women.
Meg
Munn, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
the Foreign Office, admitted that the British
government would be working to overturn the laws
of sovereign states. She said, 'Working with human
rights activists, international institutions and
non-governmental organisations and like minded
governments the Foreign Office is targeting states
where same sex relations are illegal, to raise
our concerns and encourage them to change their
laws.'
Barbara
Follett, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
in the Equalities Office, admitted that the passage
of Britain's Equality Bill was not merely a matter
of preventing 'discrimination' but of forcing
acceptance, even in foreign countries. She said,
'The Bill is not just designed to prohibit people
from doing things. Rather, we want public authorities
actively to promote the values of fairness and
opportunity for all and consider the needs of
the whole community in everything they do.'
Follett
listed the gains of the homosexualist movement
in Britain including working in schools to denormalize
natural heterosexual relations between men and
women for schoolchildren as early as primary school.
The
government's 'anti-homophobic bullying' programmes
have been criticised as a means of silencing and
marginalizing the voice of traditional Christianity
in Britain. In particular, the recently passed
Sexual Orientation Regulations have forced religious
organisations to abandon their religious character
and accept homosexuality as equivalent to natural
sexual relations.
Follett
particularly boasted of the Sexual Orientation
Regulations that have significantly advanced the
suppression of any opposition, particularly religious
opposition, to the work of homosexual activists.
She said, 'We have prohibited discrimination on
grounds of sexual orientation in the workplace,
and outlawed it outside the workplace. Last month
we made similar protections available to people
on grounds of their gender reassignment.'
In
April 2007, shortly after the passage of the notorious
Sexual Orientation Regulations that has forced
the closure of a number of Catholic adoption agencies,
George Broadhead, secretary of the Gay and Lesbian
Humanist Association (GALHA) said, 'For the sake
of these children…should be protected from
the promotion of bigotry in schools, the Catholic
Church should be stripped of its educational establishments.'
Many
Christian and Muslim countries are under constant
pressure from international organisations, the
European Union and the United Nations, as well
as a host of homosexualist pressure groups to
change their laws to fully accept the normalization
of homosexuality as equal to natural marriage
and relationships.
For
more on the close connections between Labour and
Stonewall:
UK
Minister Pledges Government Collaboration with
Gay Activists in Stopping 'Homophobic Bullying'
in Schools here
British
Catholic Schools Targeted For Refusing to Implement
School 'anti-homophobic' Bullying Policies here
UK
Secularists and Gays Demand Marginalization of
Christians here
New
U.K. PM Gordon Brown Promises Gays 'Crack-Down'
on 'Homophobia' here
[LifeSiteNews]
1451.11
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International
news
Albania
The Church 'alive and well'
The
bishops of Albania say that despite the 'material
and spiritual destruction' suffered under Communism,
the Church in their country is alive and well,
albeit in need of support. Archbishop Angelo Massafra
of Shkoder made this appeal for help on Vatican
Radio this week, also giving thanks for 'all the
benevolence and the support' received from the
Holy See. The prelates are in Rome for their five-yearly
visit. The archbishop said the Church in Albania
'could need to be supported a little more at the
economic level as well because we are in a negative
period worldwide. Also in Albania, we live this
global economic recession. We wouldn't want to
be left alone, and we will say that clearly to
the Holy See and the various congregations.' Archbishop
Massafra said the faith of the Church in Albania
is 'very alive: Whoever comes to participate in
our liturgies, to see our experiences of faith,
leaves truly impressed by the vitality, a moving
vivacity in the faith experience.'
'Those
who come from Europe have lost this enthusiasm,'
he said. The archbishop said that he tells visitors
to Albania: 'Help us with your preparation, with
your experience. Nevertheless, when you come here,
we will transmit to you our missionary spirit,
our enthusiasm, and it is truly a beautiful thing.
'It's clear that this doesn't mean we don't have
difficulties, that we don't have problems, but
the crosses that form part of our daily life show
that there is vitality.' Among the challenges
for the Church in Albania, the prelate noted 'that
of secularism, of the desire to get rich right
away, of emigration -- external and also internal,
with floating populations, with many problems
also in the area of families.' And he said the
bishops' conference is writing a pastoral letter
regarding family issues. There is also, he affirmed,
'a greater commitment in our evangelization, so
that the hearts of our faithful can truly fall
in love with Christ, and be in continuous conversation,
as the Lord asks us.'
Other
challenges, Archbishop Massafra noted, refer to
Catholics' commitment in society and politics
-- 'a serious committment, based in Christian
values.' He also mentioned the challenge of 'relations
with the Orthodox faithful and interreligious
relations with our Muslim brothers.' Bishop Lucjan
Avgustini of Sape added, 'After everything the
church in Albania has lived -- that is, the material
and spiritual destruction during the time of communism
-- we can say that today we have a living community
of faithful. 'We have a Church that is moving
forward and growing and this has been visible
above all in the last 17 years. This has been
accomplished as much at the spiritual level as
at the education, cultural and social level.'
The bishop said continuous spiritual formation
is among the urgent needs, 'But certainly, intellectual
and social formation cannot be left aside, [an
area] in which the Catholic Church in Albania
has made an effort and will continue to do so.'
The Church, Bishop Avgustini added, 'is making
a great contribution in education and in the healing
of social wounds, for example, with poverty, the
young, in immigration. Development and the moral
progress of society are at the base of a better
future, a more secure and happy future.' Albania
has a population of about 3.2 million, about a
half million of whom are Catholic. The Church
is organized in two archdioceses and three dioceses,
as well as the Byzantine apostolic administration
of Southern Albania. [Zenit] 1451.12
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Argentina
Church-state crisis
An
Argentine cardinal is traveling to the Vatican
for consultations about a Church-state crisis
in that country. Cardinal Jorge Begoglio of Buenos
Aires will speak with Vatican officials about
the decision by Argentina's President Cristina
Kirchner to cancel the traditional Te Deum service
that has taken place on May 25, the national day
of independence, each year since 1810. In place
of the Catholic service, Kirchner has called for
a 'multi-faith' religious observance, clearly
designed to show her government's displeasure
with the Catholic Church after a series of disagreements
over moral issues.
The
government was also reportedly determined to avoid
giving Cardinal Bergoglio an opportunity to deliver
another sermon criticizing its policies. Tensions
between the Argentine government and the Catholic
Church flared in February, when the government
named Alberto Iribarne, a Catholic who is divorced
and remarried outside the Church-- as ambassador
to the Holy See. The Vatican refused to accept
his diplomatic credentials. On his trip to Rome
to discuss the latest showdown, Cardinal Bergoglio
will be accompanied by two vice-presidents of
the nation's episcopal conference: Archbishops
Luis Villalba of Tucumún and AgustÃn
Radrizzani of Mercedes-Luján. The
apostolic nuncio in Buenos Aires, Archbishop Adriano
Bernardini, is also traveling with the Jesuit
cardinal. President Kirchner is scheduled to visit
the Vatican in early June. [CWNews] 1451.13
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Canada
All religions welcome - except Christianity
Every
religion but Christianity should be welcome in
public life in Quebec, according to a government
report. Crucifixes must be removed from the National
Assembly and classrooms and Christian prayers
banned from city council meetings but students
should be allowed to wear their Islamic hijabs,
Jewish kippas, Sikh turbans and even the ceremonial
dagger called a kirpan. The report says, 'Under
the principle of the neutrality of the State,
religious displays linked to the functioning of
public institutions should be abandoned.' But
because 'Catholicism has left an indelible mark
on Québec's history,' the huge crucifix
on top of Mount Royal in Montreal and the town
and village names derived from the Catholic calendar
of saints can stay. These were deemed to 'no longer
fulfil an obvious religious function'.
The
famous crucifix in the National Assembly can be
put in 'a room devoted to the history of Parliament'.
The core values of Quebec society should be the
'rule of French, gender equality (and) the separation
of church and state.' Titled 'Building the Future:
A Time for Reconciliation', the 307-page report
on immigration and minorities by sociologist Gerard
Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor cost the
Quebec government $5 million. Premier Jean Charest
promised to act quickly to implement the report
saying it has the 'greatest impact and most immediate
impact.' 'We are proposing neither a break nor
a radical shift but only measures to facilitate
intercultural relations and the normal development
of a pluralist, modern society,' Taylor said.
Judges,
Crown prosecutors, police officers, prison guards
and the president of the National Assembly should
be barred from wearing religious symbols, but
other public sector employees and students may
be allowed to wear religious signs if they do
not hinder their jobs or their safety. Quebec
should adopt 'basic texts' that define 'open secularism'
and 'typically Quebec-style interculturalism,'
and the government should produce 'a multidenominational
calendar' of public religious holidays. Despite
the dramatic decline in the Francophone population
of Quebec, the plunging birth rate, the rise of
mass immigration from non-Christian cultures and
a growing number of inter-cultural clashes between
the indigenous French Catholic culture and immigrant
populations, the report concluded that there was
no cultural crisis in Quebec.
Only
a 'crisis of perception' exists on ethnic and
religious integration the report said. 'What we
are facing, instead, is the need to adapt,' the
report said. The growth of secularism and the
fading of the traditional French Catholic culture
of Quebec means that greater accommodation must
be made to non-Christian immigration. The proposed
solution is radical secularisation. 'Our society
is sufficiently divided at present and we must
seek to reduce splits and tensions instead of
exacerbating them. The time has come for compromise,
negotiation and balance.' Meanwhile, the report
did not mention the fact that demographers continue
to predict that the native French population of
Quebec has only a few decades more life left.
The sudden plunge of the birth rate at the end
of the 1960s, the abortion rate well above the
Canadian national average, divorce, and an aging
population spell the impending end of Quebec as
a 'distinct society'. In 2005, a group of Quebec's
leaders in politics and business warned that the
province would soon see the end of its economic
prosperity because of the drastic drop in the
birth rate. Economist Pierre Fortin warned that
it is already too late and the trend is irreversible,
'It is written in the sky.' By 2025, Fortin said
there would be two workers for every retiree.
'The aging population will tear Quebec apart.'
'Unfortunately, most [Quebeckers] continue to
deny or ignore the danger, and this is cause for
deep concern,' the group stated in its report.
'That's the peculiarity of the current situation:
the danger does not appear imminent but rather
as a long slow decline. At first glance, there
doesn't seem to be any risk. But once it begins,
the downward slide will be inexorable.'[LifeSiteNews]
1451.14
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Germany
'Christianophobia'
In what has been described as a blatant act of
'Christianophobia,' a group of protestors physically
and verbally assaulted some of the 15 thousand
Christians peacefully gathered for the April 30
opening day of the Christival German youth festival.
About 450 gathered into a No Christival group
protest procession only hundreds of meters from
the Christian youth event, reported christianophobia.eu.
About 100 of the self-described 'antisexist alliance'
protestors broke down barricades, while other
No Christival members set off fireworks. German
chants of 'No God, no state, no patriarchy', 'Masturbation
instead of evangelization,' and 'Never again Jesus'
filled the air together with speaker announcements
that compared the gathered Christians to Nazis.
No Christival flyers also accused the hosts of
Christival of holding 'extreme conservative and
right wing world views that are characterized
by literal bible interpretation, homophobia and
sexism'.
Attacks
on Christians continued throughout the festival
that concluded May 4. On the evening of May 1,
the Christival website was hacked to read 'Hey
you. Christival.de is temporary closed. We know
that the belief in God is curable. In the past,
we were very religious. Now it is gone.' Later
in the week, same-sex couples began ostentatiously
kissing while renowned Christian speaker Ulrich
Parzany attempted to give his lecture at St. Martini
church. On May 3, protestors carried a 'My uterus
is mine only' sign onto the Christival event grounds.
They then violently pushed through the doors meant
to ban the demonstrators from festival grounds.
Christival hosts also reported that some Christians
were mobbed and had beer bottles thrown at them.
The
Christival events are but one of a series of attacks
on Christians that Christianophobia.eu has recently
reported. Christianophobia is an organization
that calls attention to discrimination against
Christians in Europe and encourages reader to
actively response to such injustices. 'Christianophobia
consists of the terms Christian and phobos which
means '(irrational) fear'. The term means therefore
irrational fear or hatred of Christians, or Christianity
in general,' explains the Christianophobia.eu
site.
'It consists of a negative categorical bias against
Christians - both individually and collectively
-, against Christianity as a whole, or positions
intrinsically part of the Christian faith. Such
prejudice is a form of religious intolerance;
it may be simply a mental or emotional attitude,
or it may lead to stereotyping, discrimination,
or even - in extreme cases - to persecution of
Christians.' 'The attitude in Europe is becoming
very hostile. We work on the issue and publish
these cases in order to alert. Our work is not
about self-pity. It is about solutions which must
include the political level,' Christianophobia.eu
founder Gudrun Kugler told ZENIT.org in January.
The term 'Christianophobia' was coined by Jewish
legal scholar Joseph Weiler. The United Nations
Human Rights Commission in Geneva already uses
the term alongside the terms 'anti-Semitism' and
'Islamophobia.' Vatican officials such as Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with
states, has supported the more widespread use
of the term.[LifeSiteNews] 1451.15
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www.catholic-family.org
Germany
Papal message for Katholikentag
Pope
Benedict XVI encouraged German Catholics to trust
in God and to weigh all political and social issues
in the light of the Gospel, in a message to the
Katholikentag festival of the laity, being
held this week in Osnabruck. The Pope's message
to the 97th Katholikentag, read aloud on
May 22, recalled the story of the Prodigal Son,
who felt that he needed to leave his father's
house in order to pursue his own fulfillment.
Such a belief is mistaken, the Pope said; Christians
can and should find fulfillment by remaining close
to their heavenly Father. The Pontiff reminded
the German lay Catholics that their personal relationship
with Christ should be a constant source of confidence
and encouragement. Like the first apostles, he
said, Christ's followers today should turn to
him for help when the storms of everyday life
threaten. The Holy Father reminded the Katholikentag
of Christ's assurance that He would always
be with his followers, providing them with the
strength they would need to overcome any obstacle.
[CWNews] 1451.16
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